JON GARELICK

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All flavors of great jazz Next week we'll tell you all about the tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who brings his great band with Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers, and Eric Harland to the Regattabar January 21-22. In the meantime, here are 10 other primo jazz acts to catch live this winter.

Another side of Cuba, another side of Berklee; plus Jason Stein and the Dymaxion Quartet If you were to hear that a group of Berklee students were spending a week in Cuba, you probably wouldn't be too surprised.

Plus Benny Sharoni's hard bop and Ben Powell's fiddle magic When I first put on Benny Sharoni's new Eternal Elixir (Papaya), there was, as a composer friend of mine likes to say, "nothing wrong with it." That is, it seemed no better or worse than a zillion other straight-ahead tenor-saxophone discs.

Berklee Performance Center, October 28 Chucho Valdés’s first performance in Boston in seven years was the grand tour of Afro-Cuban Jazz that his fans in the sold-out Berklee Performance Center could have hoped for — especially based on the retrospective quality of his latest CD, Chucho’s Steps.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, live at the Paradise Rock Club, October 16, 2010 The only big difference between the Carolina Chocolate Drops' show at the Paradise Saturday night and the one at the Somerville Theatre back in January was the venue.

Havana, Chicago, and a dash of Toronto Anyone who has doubts about the musical supremacy of Chucho Valdés — or wants an introduction to it — need only listen to "Danzón," the second track from the new Chucho's Steps.

Esperanza Spalding | Sanders Theatre | October 2, 2010 Esperanza Spalding wants to prepare her listeners for something different with her new Chamber Music Society (Heads Up). She made that clear at Sanders Theatre Saturday night.

Trying new flavors in the new season A search for this fall’s must-see jazz revealed a lot of overlapping personnel — Jim Hobbs, Allan Chase, Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum. Hey, you wanted to know what’s good , right?

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival has grown from a one-day street fair to 10 days of activities that encompass club gigs as well as the signature afternoon multi-stage event in the South End. Here are some highlights.